Dancing With Demons
by inner thoughts
Summary: Secrets and people from the past close in on the Stetsons.  Their lives will be forever changed.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Scarecrow and Mrs. King_ and its characters are property of Warner Bros. and Shoot the Moon Productions. No copyright infringement is intended

**Time:** Post Season 4- a few weeks after "O, Christmas Tree"

Lee stepped behind Amanda and put his arms around her waist. He pulled in close to her and lightly kissed her neck. He never got tired of the sweet smell of her perfume and shampoo. As he nuzzled her neck, he moved his hands to her ever-growing belly. There was no hiding the fact that she was pregnant now. Just running his hands over his unborn child sent a thrill of happiness through him. Amanda turned around and faced Lee, careful not to disturb his grasp around her waist. She loved being held by him. She looked up at him with her big brown eyes and gently kissed his lips.

"Lee, don't forget that we have guests. Let me finish the dishes and you bring Sam and Francine their coffee. I will be right in with the dessert."

Lee squeezed her tighter and kissed her passionately.

"They can wait a minute while I kiss my wife. I missed you today. Work is keeping us both far too busy lately."

"Tell you what, sweetheart, I promise you that I will be all yours tonight and we can make up for lost time. Deal?"

Lee looked at Amanda with a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Deal!"

Lee carried the tray with the coffee into the living room where Francine and Sam were sitting enjoying the raging fire in the fireplace. Amanda soon followed with one of her homemade chocolate cakes that she made especially for Francine.

"Amanda, thank you for dinner. It was wonderful! It is so nice to catch up with you and get to know Lee better." Sam said.

"Oh, Sam, it is great having you and Francine over. Mother will be disappointed that she didn't get to see you. How are you adjusting to DC?"

Amanda began serving cake to everyone as Lee poured the coffee. Sam gave a glance at Francine and smiled as he gently grabbed her hand.

"I am adjusting very well. It was definitely the right move for me. It's been great catching up with Joe, too."

Francine smiled at Sam and leaned back in her seat.

"I wish that tomorrow weren't Monday! Last week was crazy. Is it me or do the new agent candidates seem to get worse and worse every year? They seem to lack all common sense! All they want to do is shoot something and go right out into the field. More than half of this class won't make it….I'm telling you that right now! Amanda, how about you switch with me for tomorrow? You take my freshman seminar and I will do whatever it is you are working on."

Amanda chuckled.

"No way, Francine! I have an easy job tomorrow. Just have to do a soft interrogation of 3 people that want to defect to the United States. Piece of cake. Guess you will have to run your class on your own!"

"Lee? You want to trade with me?"

"No….not on your life! I have done more than my share of those seminars. It's all you, babe!"

Sam laughed at the situation while he sipped his coffee.

"So Amanda, how are you feeling these days? I must say that you look wonderful!"

"Thanks, Sam. I am feeling really good! Christmas was a little hectic with my recovery from my concussion and all, but I am feeling just fine now."

"Good! Well I know the boys are excited about the baby! It seems like every time I see them that is all they are talking about."

Lee and Amanda both smiled at Sam's comment. Francine shifted uncomfortably in her seat and placed her coffee cup on the coffee table.

"Uh, Amanda…..speaking of the boys…", Francine began.

Sam squeezed her hand and shot her a look that indicated she should stop talking. Lee and Amanda looked intently at the couple wondering what the issue was. Francine pulled her hand free and continued with her thought.

"Amanda, I think that it is time that you and Lee had a talk with the boys about the agency."

"Francine, this is none of our business", Sam said curtly.

Lee and Amanda looked at Francine.

"What makes you say that, Francine?" Amanda asked.

"What is it that you know that we don't" Lee inquired.

Francine still looked uneasy. Amanda was quickly losing patience.

"Francine? What is it? Spit it out!"

"OK. Sam doesn't think I should tell you, but the other day, Sam was talking to Joe about me and Joe said something about me working for the agency. The boys overheard him and starting asking some questions like what was the agency and since you and Lee worked with me, did you work for the agency, too."

Amanda felt her stomach drop as a ball of panic began to rise in her throat. Lee became angry at Joe for not telling them that this conversation had taken place. He began questioning Francine.

"So what did Joe say to them? Did he tell them what the agency actually is or did he give them vague answers? And when the HELL was he going to tell us that he had had this conversation with the boys?"

"Now, Lee, don't get mad. He just…."

Lee quickly cut Francine off.

"Don't get mad? Joe has a conversation with Philip and Jamie about their parents working for the agency, doesn't bother to tell us and we shouldn't get mad? Francine, we should have been notified immediately! You know as well as I do that a little information can be far worse than the whole story!"

Amanda quietly got up and went into the kitchen. She grabbed the phone and dialed Joe's number. She impatiently tapped the phone message pen against the kitchen counter as she waited for him to answer.

"Joe?...this is Amanda."

"Hi, Amanda. We were just packing up to leave to head back to your place. Is everything ok?"

"Um…no everything is NOT ok. I was just informed about your little discussion with the boys about the agency. When were you planning on telling me that you had that discussion?"

"Amanda….calm down. It really wasn't that big of a deal."

"Oh..yes Joe, it is a HUGE deal and you KNOW that! Lee and I should have been told right away! When you get here, you had better plan on staying a while because we are all going to sit down and have a talk. Good-bye!"

Amanda slammed down the phone and threw the pen across the room. Francine quietly walked into the kitchen and began to talk with Amanda.

"Amanda, I am sorry to have upset you but I thought it was important that you and Lee know that the boys were asking questions. Like Lee said, a little information can be much more dangerous that the whole enchilada."

"It's not your fault, Francine. I am very glad you told us. I have been dreading this conversation for five years and now it's time to pay the piper. I am just not sure what to say to them."

"Just be as truthful as you can without giving away too many details."

Amanda nodded. She felt the hot tears of anger and frustration begin to well up in her eyes. Sam walked into the family room with Francine's coat and gestured to her that it was time for them to leave. Sam shook Lee's hand and thanked him for dinner. Lee walked them out and firmly closed the front door. He walked back into the kitchen to find Amanda looking out the window over the sink, arms crossed and tears gently escaping her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Lee walked up behind Amanda and gently squeezed her shoulders.

"Hey….come on. It's going to be ok."

Amanda turned around to face Lee.

"Lee, this is NOT the way I wanted them to find out. They should have heard it from ME first. Not Joe! Joe doesn't even have anything to do with the agency! What if he frightened them? What if he told them things that will put them in danger?"

"Let's not put the cart before the horse here. We need to find out exactly what Joe said to them and then you and I need to sit the boys down and have a long talk with them."

"I have been dreading this day for 5-years! What do I say to them?"

"You say to them that their mother has been working hard at a job that helps to keep this country safe and you didn't say anything to them until now because when you started, they were too little to understand."

"But, they are still little to me…."

"Amanda….they are young men now. They are not the little boys that I used to watch through that window when you first started working for the agency. They are growing up, quickly I might add. Philip is in high school and dating, Jamie is top of his class and a really outstanding young man. I really think that they are going to be just fine with this."

"Really?"

"Yes, I do."

Lee pulled Amanda close and hugged her tight. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair.

"What time did Joe say they were going to be here?"

"They were packing up to leave so I am guessing in the next half hour or so."

"Why don't you let me clean up and you go take a nice hot shower and relax then come down here and get off your feet for a bit. I don't want you getting too upset."

Amanda pulled back from Lee and looked him in the eyes.

"I don't know, Lee. I want to make sure that I am here when Joe arrives. I don't want him leaving before we have a nice long chat about this and him keeping his big mouth shut!"

Lee smirked at Amanda.

"Amanda…do you really think that I am going to let Joe leave? I'll shoot out his tires if I have to. That man is staying and we are ALL going to have a chat."

Amanda laughed despite herself.

"Ok…a shower sounds good. Put all the dishes in the dishwasher but wait till I' m out of the shower to turn it on. And don't forget…."

"A-MAN-da! I know how to pick up the dishes. Stop stalling and go take a shower."

"Ok" she said with a smile as she walked up the steps to the landing.

"Hey!" Lee called after her. She turned to face him. "I love you!"

"I love you, too, Sweetheart."

Amanda heard the clank of the coffee cups against their saucers as she walked into their bedroom. She clicked on the lamp on the night stand and began to undress. As she removed her shirt, she looked down at her pregnant belly and smiled as she rubbed her hands over her stomach.

"You're in for an interesting life, little one! Never seems to be a dull moment around here. I don't expect things will be any different once you arrive."

Amanda turned on the shower and finished undressing. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail so it wouldn't get wet and removed her heart necklace. As she stepped into the shower, the water began to run down her back. The hot water felt so nice against her tense shoulders. As she began to relax, the tears once again began to come. A million thoughts clouded her mind at once. This was not how she wanted Philip and Jamie to find out that she was a spy. Part of her hoped that they would never find out. She felt guilty all these years lying to them, but it was to keep them safe. Now that they were going to find out the truth, would they still be safe or would they now be in more danger? Amanda began to sob.

"Oh what have I done? How will my sons ever be safe again?" She said aloud.

Her tears then began to change to anger. How dare Joe have this discussion with the boys without her and not even tell her about it? Who does he think he is? Leaving her alone for all those years to raise the boys on her own and then just try and waltz back into their lives? Lee was a far better father to them then Joe had ever been. Amanda resolved to let Joe know exactly how she felt. She didn't care anymore if she hurt his feelings. It was her job to protect Philip and Jamie and that is exactly what she is going to do, even if it is from their own father.

Amanda shut off the water and began to dry herself with the big fluffy towel fresh from the linen closet. She then slipped on her Georgetown sweatshirt and her sweatpants that worked nicely with her expanding waistline. Suddenly she heard Philip and Jamie run up the stairs, yelling greetings to her as they passed by. As she opened her bedroom door and began down the stairs she could hear Lee's voice.

"Joe, why don't you go and have a seat in the family room? Amanda will be right down."

"Well, I can't stay that long, Lee."

"Oh no, Joe. Really…I INSIST."

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Amanda took a deep breath and bounded down the stairs. She watched Lee escort Joe into the living room and shut the door. The angst and anger began to rise from the pit of her stomach and flush her cheeks. As she stood at the door, Amanda could hear the tension in Lee and Joe's voices. She slid open the door to see the two men standing virtually toe to toe, Joe's finger pointed aggressively toward Lee.

"Joe! Sit down! That's enough!" Amanda said with fire in her voice.

Lee and Joe both stopped their arguing and turned to look at Amanda. Joe plopped down into the overstuffed chair and angrily laced his fingers together and placed them on his lap. Lee exhaled heavily as he took his seat and began to run his hands through his hair. Amanda took a seat on the couch next to Lee and instinctively reached for his hand. She took a moment before she began and stared down her ex-husband that sat across the coffee table from her. Her usual warm, round, brown eyes now were full of anger and hurt. Memories from her life with Joe began to flash in her mind's eye.

"_It's very nice to meet you, Amanda West. My name is Joe King….I really do love you, Joe. You make me happier than I have ever been…..Amanda, I don't ever want us to be apart. Will you marry me?...Congratulations! It's a boy!...Guess what Joe? Philip learned how to walk today! Wait till you see!...Philip? Come meet your baby brother, Jamie…Oh, Joe! Our very own house! I can't believe it! I feel like we are a real family now!...Africa? You want us to move to Africa? Joe, we have two small boys. We can't just move them half way around the world to Africa! What are you thinking?...Fellas, I have something to talk to you about. Your dad isn't going to be living here anymore….Mother, what kind of a man sends his wife divorce papers by special delivery from Africa without even so much as a warning that they were coming or that he was even thinking of divorce?...And if you just sign here, Mrs. King, your divorce will be final….Mom, why doesn't dad love us anymore? He never comes to visit us….."_

"Amanda…A-MAN-DA!" Lee called to his wife as she was lost in thought. Amanda snapped out of her flood of memories and focused her attentions on Joe but still holding on tightly to Lee's hand.

"So, Joe…..tell us exactly what went on with the boys and the agency talk." Amanda demanded.

"Amanda, it wasn't.."

"And DON'T tell me it wasn't a big deal!" Amanda interrupted as she leaned forward on the couch, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

Joe looked at Amanda and quickly inhaled. "Ok, fine…..Philip overheard me talking to Sam about Francine and how he is having some difficulty adjusting to her being a spy and working for the agency. Philip put two and two together and came and asked me some questions about what you two do if you supposedly work with Francine and she works for a government agency."

Lee's ears perked up at the word 'spy'. "Wait a minute, Joe. Did Philip hear the word 'spy' from either of you?" Lee asked. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Oh, Joe! How could you have not called me right away?" Amanda interjected almost on top of Lee's question.

"Will you two let me finish? I don't know if Philip heard ME say the word spy, but he's a bright kid. He pieced all of the clues that the two of you have been leaving all over the place and figured it out all on his own. He was the one that told ME that he thought that you two were spies."

Amanda's face dropped in horror. "Well… what did you say?"

Joe's face began to get red and his eyes showed a heightened level of agitation. He sat there in silence.

Lee and Amanda looked at each other. Lee's jaw was clenched and his temple muscles were pulsating. Amanda was unconsciously wringing her hands over and over as she awaited his answer. She inhaled sharply as she jumped up from the couch.

"Joe King! You answer me RIGHT NOW! What did you say to Philip?" Amanda yelled at Joe. Her body language screamed that she was a mother protecting her young and if need be, she would take Joe down. Joe was taken aback at Amanda's aggressive gesture. He had never seen this side of her and he honestly was a bit frightened by it. Her gaze was burning a hole into his eyes.

"What did you expect me to say, Amanda? Did you want me to lie to Philip? I mean, I know that lying has become second nature for you, but I feel that at least _one_ of his parents should tell him the _truth_ about things and have their best interest at heart!"

Before she realized what she was doing, Amanda lunged for Joe. Lee sprang from the couch, grabbed her around the waist and held Amanda on their side of the coffee table.

"How DARE you, Joe! How DARE you sit there and say that I am comfortable lying to my sons! I have kept the agency from them for their protection not for my pleasure. AND if either of their parents have their best interest at heart, it CERTAINLY ISN'T YOU! I'm not the one that left them when they were small boys to go off to Africa and never even ONCE came home to visit them! You hardly called or wrote. Do you know how many times I had to convince them that their dad still loved them? Philip asked me all the time why his father didn't love them anymore. And after all the heartache you caused them, you try to waltz back into their lives and act as if you are 'Father of the Year'. You really need to get over yourself, Joe."

Joe began to show his anger on his face. His steel blue eyes began to redden. He took in a deep breath in preparation to respond to Amanda, but she would not allow him to speak before she was done.

"And how can you seriously sit there and say that YOU have their best interest at heart? You abandon them for nearly 3 years with virtually no financial support, no communication…..It was ME that was here making sure that they were loved and had a happy home! It was ME that was making sacrifices and taking odd jobs, clipping coupons to make sure that they had food on the table. Where were you then?"

Lee sat back and watched a side of Amanda immerge that he had never seen before. She was fiercely protective of the boys and telling Joe things that she should have said a long time ago. He couldn't help but begin to smile as he watched his wife in action.

Joe stood up from the chair and made a step towards Amanda. Lee quickly went on the defensive and positioned himself closer to Amanda.

"Amanda, you know damn well where I was and what I was doing. And I made sure that you and the boys had money and a roof over your head!"

"Huh! That's a laugh! The money you sent barely covered the mortgage payments. I was left to cover everything else! Thank God I was able to find a job with the agency! We wouldn't have been able to survive."

Joe looked at Lee and formed an angry smirk. "Oh yeah, thank God! And a paycheck wasn't all you found there, was it Amanda?"

Amanda could hear Lee draw in a sharp breath. She knew he was trying hard to not say anything and let her handle the situation, but she also knew that if Joe continued, the possibility of Lee punching him was pretty high. She was torn as to if she would try and stop him or not.

"What is that supposed to mean, Joe?"

"Well you found Mr. Right there, too, didn't ya? Now you are one big happy spy family! You two are reckless and think only of yourselves and don't give much thought at all to Philip and Jamie. After all, they're not your kids, right Lee? So why worry about their wellbeing?"

In one swift motion, Lee kicked the coffee table out of the way and stood toe to toe and nose to nose with Joe.

"You shut your damn mouth, Joe! I love Philip and Jamie as if they were my own! I have been looking out for their wellbeing for years, long before Amanda and I were even involved. Just because you walked out on an amazing woman and two of the best kids that there are is no one's fault but your own! Don't try to play the victim here or try and tell Amanda that she is anything but an incredible mother to those kids. And I don't supposed your jealousy played any part in you reveling the agency connection, did it?"

Lee punctuated his remarks to Joe with a firm poke to the chest. The fire in Lee's eyes let Joe know that he meant business. No further unkind or unfair remarks about him or especially Amanda would be tolerated. Joe took a step back and pulled on his jacket lapels.

"Well, I can see that I have worn out my welcome for tonight. I think it is time for me to go." Joe said smugly. He turned quickly and slid open the living room door.

Amanda yelled after him. "Joe! We're not finished! Get back here!" The only answer that Amanda received was the slamming of the front door. "Damn it, Joe!"

Amanda stomped into the kitchen. Lee followed her. The hot tears of frustration and fear out of not knowing what the boys were told began to fall from Amanda's eyes. Amanda took her familiar place by the kitchen window and stared out the glass hoping something would appear to calm her nerves. Lee stood back for a moment and watched helplessly as Amanda cried. He gently squeezed her shoulders. His touch was so welcome and safe at this moment. Amanda quickly turned around and buried herself in Lee's embrace. He held her tight and placed his chin atop her head. His hands gently rubbed her back in gentle circles.

"Sssshhhhh! It will be ok, Amanda. Don't let Joe get to you in this way. It will all be ok."

Amanda looked up from Lee's chest. The pain in her eyes cut right through to Lee's soul. He gently brushed the tears off her cheeks with his thumbs as he cupped her face in his hands.

"Amanda, I promise that it will be ok. I think that we need to talk to the boys ourselves and finally come clean with the whole thing. They are old enough now that they can handle it and it might actually be a very good thing for them to know. They need to learn how to keep themselves safe." Lee placed his index finger on Amanda's lips as she began to speak. "AND Amanda, we don't know if what Joe said is true or not. They may have had their own suspicions for a while and it is better that they know the facts rather than work off of suspicions."

Amanda slowly nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. I have just dreaded this moment for the last 5-years. What if they can't forgive me for lying to them all these years? What if this puts them in more danger than if they never knew?"

"Well, we'll never know until we talk to them, will we?" Lee stood back and placed his hands on Amanda's belly. He stood there silently gazing at his unborn child and his beautiful wife. Amanda lovingly placed her hands on top of Lee's. Lee squeezed her hands and looked into her eyes. "You and this family are the most important thing in the world to me, and I will go to the ends of the earth to keep you safe. Don't ever forget that."

"I know you will, Lee. We'll get through this, together, right?"

Lee leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Amanda's lips.

"You'd better believe together!" He gave her another kiss, this one much more passionate. "Why don't you make us all some cocoa and I will go get the boys, OK?"

"OK"

Lee winked at Amanda as he exited the kitchen and headed upstairs to retrieve Philip and Jamie. Amanda put the tea kettle on to boil and retrieved the marshmallows from their secret hiding place. She was lost in thought when she heard Jamie talking to her.

"Hey Mom! What did you want to talk to us about?"

To be continued…..


	3. Chapter 3

Amanda quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before turning around to greet Jamie. She threw her arms around him and held him tightly. The boys were growing quickly and would soon be men, but in her eyes, they would always be her babies. Thoughts of how Jamie and Philip might react to her news of working for the agency flooded Amanda's mind and made her feel sick to her stomach. She had hated lying to the boys all these years. Now, all the lying was to come to an end. She didn't know what she would do if the realization of the lies changed her relationship with her sons for the worse. Panic began to swirl in her head.

"Mom…MOM! You're hurting me! Stop squeezing me so tight!" Jamie uttered trying to pull free of Amanda's bear hug.

Amanda released Jamie and stepped back. "Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry! I just missed you and Philip so much this weekend. I am happy you are home."

"Mom, are you crying?"

Amanda wiped her eyes again and tried to hide the fact that she had indeed been crying for quite some time now. She quickly tried to think of an excuse.

"Oh, I guess I am! You know I get hormonal these days with the pregnancy and all! I am so glad that you and your brother are home."

"I missed you, too, Mom" Jamie said as he reached into the cookie jar.

"Hey! Worm-brain! Get me a cookie, too!" Philip demanded as he bound down the stairs into the family room.

Lee lightly tapped Philip on the back of the head. "Hey! What did I tell ya about calling Jamie worm-brain?"

Philip started to grin. "Sorry…..over here! Toss me the cookie!"

Jamie tossed Philip one of Amanda's chocolate chip cookies. The two of them sat on the couch and turned on the TV. Lee walked into the kitchen to help Amanda.

"What did you say to them?"

"I told them that we wanted to have a family chat and would they please come downstairs."

"Did they say anything about the agency?"

"No, but they did ask what we were all yelling about down here."

Amanda let out a heavy sigh and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, Lee! I don't want to do this!" she said in hushed tones. "How will I ever get them to trust me again once they hear how long I have been keeping this a secret?"

"Amanda…you don't know that that will even be an issue. You thought Dotty would take it badly, too and look how she reacted! Hell, she even wanted us to give her an assignment! We just need to sit down with them and be honest. I am sure they have questions and I think we will all feel better once it is out in the open."

Amanda slowly nodded as the stirred the cocoa.

"Philip! Stop it!" Jamie shouted as Philip continued to toss the basketball into the air and bounce it off Jamie's shoulder.

"What! It was an accident!"

"5 times! It was an accident 5 times!"

Jamie punched Philip in the arm. Lee walked over to the couch and snatched the basketball out of the air after Philip tossed it again.

"No ball in the house! And Jamie, don't punch your brother! Now go grab your cocoa from your mother and come back and have a seat."

Lee looked over at Amanda who looked like she was going to be sick at any moment. He gave her a smile and a wink that said it was going to be ok. Amanda plopped the marshmallows into the cocoa making sure that each of the boys had exactly the same number, lest there be something else for them to argue about. Philip grabbed two more cookies and handed one to Jamie before they claimed their seats on the couch. Amanda carried in a mug to Lee and took a seat in the chair opposite the boys. Lee pulled his chair over next to her.

"So, what's up, mom", Philip asked with a mouth full of cookie.

Amanda sharply exhaled and wrung her hands together. She looked over at Lee who gave her an encouraging nod.

"Well, fellas….Lee and I have something to talk to you about and well, it might be hard for you to understand."

Amanda sat in silence for a moment trying to make the words come out but they were stuck in a big lump in her throat.

Philip and Jamie looked at each other, confused by Amanda's silence. "Mom….are you ok? Are you sick or something?" Jamie asked with extreme worry in his voice.

"No, no…..your mother is not sick. No one is sick." Lee quickly answered.

Jamie looked at Lee with concern. "Are…..are you leaving us? Are you moving out like our dad did?"

Lee was shocked at Jamie's question. "What? No..NO! I am not leaving!"

"Then what is it? Mom? You are scaring us. Just tell us!"

Jamie was always very sensitive to Amanda's moods. It was very obvious that she was very troubled and had some bad news to deliver to them. Amanda once again looked at the boys and began to speak.

"Fellas…..we need to tell you something about Lee and I…..something that may be shocking to you. It is something that I have been dreading to tell you about for a very long time and I am not sure what the best way to say it is….so I guess…"

"Is it about the fact that you two are spies?" Philip suddenly interjected. Jamie froze in his seat mid bite of his cookie. Philip stared at Lee and Amanda awaiting their answer.

Amanda gasped as her eyes grew wide as saucers. Lee's jaw dropped as he flopped back into his chair.

"Philip! I…" Amanda began as she stammered over her words.

"It's ok, Mom. Jamie and I have suspected it for some time now and Dad talked to us about it a few weeks ago."

"A few weeks ago?" Lee's angry and boisterous voice echoed through the room. "He told you this a few WEEKS ago?"

"Boys, why didn't you talk to us about this?"

"Mom, is it true? Are you and Lee spies?" Jamie sheepishly asked.

Amanda looked at her youngest as he sat on the couch across from her. The time had come…..

"Yes…yes Jamie. Lee and I are spies."

"Yea! See Jamie! I told you I was right! They ARE spies!"

"But we don't really like that word, son. Intelligence operatives!"

"Lee! Not now!" Amanda cut him off as she shot him a look that could kill. "Philip…Jamie…I know that this is probably shocking and difficult to understand. We want to answer any questions that you might have and explain to you what it is that we do."

The boys settled back into the couch and listened to what Lee and Amanda had to say.

"I have dreaded this day for a long time. Part of me hoped that you would never have to know. You two were so young when I began working for the agency. You were too young to understand and it could have been dangerous for you to know. Your grandmother didn't even know until a few months ago."

"We have had a feeling now for a while, Mom." Jamie said almost reassuringly.

"Yeah, when you were in your car accident, mom, and dad made some phone calls and ordered a bunch of different people to go out looking for you…well it didn't sound like he was talking to people at a film company! There have been lots of other little things too." Philip sat for a moment and thought about the confirmation that was just given to him then began to ask some questions of his own. "Mom, do you shoot people?"

"No….Philip. I have never shot anyone and I hope to never shoot anyone."

"Have you shot anyone, Dad?"

"I…uh…"

"I know you carry a gun. I saw it under your jacket a few times when you and mom first started dating." Philip stated matter of factly.

Lee looked at Amanda unsure of what to say.

"It's ok sweetheart, you can talk to them about it."

"Ah…ok. Yes, I do carry a gun and yes I have shot people. It is an unfortunate part of the job."

The silence among them hung thickly in the air for a few moments.

"Uh, anyway fellas, I started working for the agency on a part time basis about 5-years ago. I wasn't even sure day to day if I was going to be coming back to do any more jobs for them. It started out as some clerical work and some simple assignments and eventually I was promoted to a full-time agent."

Jamie's face had a thousand questions written across it. Amanda had trouble reading if he was upset or was just processing it all. Philip seemed excited by the whole thing.

Sensing the uneasiness in the room, Lee began to talk. "You know, your mom is pretty amazing at her job. She has helped to keep this country safe and has taken down some of the worst enemies of the US that there are. You should be really proud of her."

Jamie looked at Amanda. "Mom…..why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Oh, sweetheart….I have wanted to tell you a million times….and a part of me never wanted you to know. I didn't tell you at first because you were so small when this al began. And then the more I got involved with the agency, the more dangerous it was for you if you knew your mom was a spy but didn't comprehend exactly what that meant. Now, Lee and I agree that you are old enough to handle knowing."

"I think it's cool!" Philip said in an almost gleeful tone! "Just like James Bond!"

Lee smirked. "It's not exactly like James Bond, Philip. We don't get those cool gagets!"

"Isn't being a spy dangerous?"

"Well, yes Jamie, it can be dangerous and we have been in some dangerous situations. But we are trained to know what to do in all kinds of situations. And now that I am expecting a baby, I am not allowed to go out into the field so most of what I do right now is desk work. And Lee is not out in the field as much as he used to be either."

"What is it that you do exactly?"

Amanda looked at Lee for help on how to answer this question. Lee quickly ran his hands through his hair.

"Well, guys…the truth is that we do a lot of different things. Sometimes we help people who are in big trouble, sometimes we protect some of the secrets our country has, other times we stop people that are trying to hurt other people. But bottom line is that your mother and I work very hard every day to help make the world a better and safer place. It is a hard job but thankfully, we are very good at it."

"Tell me and Jamie about your worst case!" Philip sat on the edge of his seat awaiting the details of his mother's spy adventures.

"Sorry, champ! We can't discuss the details of our cases. And honestly, the less you know the better!"

"Aww! Come on, Dad! Tell us about something you have done!"

Lee shook his head. "Sorry, no can do! Most of what we do is classified and it's safer if you don't know."

"Mom? Does this mean we are in danger now?" Jamie asked with a worried look on his face.

"No, sweetheart. You are no more in danger now than you were ten minutes ago. It's just that…..you…..you can't talk to anyone about what it is we do. This information is not to share with your friends and really not even talk to about with your father. And I am so mad at him for not telling me that you two had questions. It should have been me to talk to you about this, not your father. Joe knows that we work for the agency but he doesn't know much beyond that. If there is anything that he needs to know, trust me, boys, we will tell him. But you guys shouldn't talk about it."

"Well why not, mom?" Philip wanted to know.

Amanda looked at Lee before she answered Philip. "Because, you never know who might be around and over hear you. If there is one thing I have learned while working for the agency is that there are ears and eyes everywhere and there might be someone that would want to hurt you if they knew their parents were spies."

Jamie hugged the couch throw pillow tight. Philip sat back on the couch, the excited look gone from his face.

"Guys, we're not trying to scare you but rather tell you the truth and let you know what the reality can be. This family is the most important thing for your mother and me and we will do everything in our power to keep you safe." Lee said reassuringly.

Jamie looked up from hugging his pillow. "Mom, can we not talk about this anymore?"

Amanda got up from the couch, kneeled in front of the couch and hugged Jamie and Philip tightly. "Oh course we can stop talking about this now. I love you two more than anything in the whole world." She sat back on her heels and continued to talk to them. "I just want you to know that I never ever wanted to lie to you and I hope that you understand why I had to."

"We get it, mom. I just…..I just need some time to think about all this. Is that ok?" Jamie asked.

"Of course. But I just want to tell you two one more thing. I am sure that you both are going to have questions about all of this so tomorrow night I want to have another talk with the four of us and you two can ask us any questions that you want to, ok?"

"OK, mom."

"Philip? Is that ok with you, too?"

"Yeah mom, that's cool."

"Ok, you two run up stairs and get ready for bed. School tomorrow."

Amanda remained kneeling on the floor as Jamie and Philip ran up to their room. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Amanda put her face in her hands and let out a soft sob. Lee quickly crossed the room to her side and helped her up off the floor. Holding her close to him, he rubbed her back and let her cry releasing the angst of the evening. Without letting her go, he began to softly speak to her.

"That went a lot better than you thought it would, didn't it?"

Amanda nodded her head as it rested on Lee's chest.

"You have two pretty amazing boys there, you know that?"

Amanda shook her head no.

"No? What do you mean no?"

Amanda lifted her head and looked at Lee.

"We. WE have two amazing boys."

Lee smiled and let out a small laugh. "Ok, we!"

Amanda placed her head back on Lee's chest. Lee squeezed her closer.

"You know, Amanda? At one point tonight, I thought you were going to deck Joe. Is it wrong that I was kind of hoping you would?" Lee chuckled.

Amanda stepped back from Lee and held his hands in hers.

"He endangered my children and that is not ok. Don't ever get between a mother and her children, There is nothing I won't do to protect them."

Lee kissed Amanda's hands. "This…I know to be true….You said you have a light day tomorrow, right?"

Amanda nodded.

"Why don't you stay home and rest?"

"No. No…I have put off those defection interviews long enough. I just want to get them over with. But I will tell you what…..if I get done early, I promise that I will come home early and take a nap. How about that?"

"Sounds like a plan. Come on, let's go to bed."

SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK

"Mama? Don't forget that we have our interview tomorrow with the agency."

"Trust me, Natasha, I will not forget. I have waited a very long time to see Lee Stetson again. It will be a reunion he will not soon forget."

To be continued….


	4. Chapter 4

"_Mama! Watch me dance! I am a ballerina and one day I will dance with the Moscow Ballet and be the best dancer in the whole world!" Natasha beamed as she excitedly spoke to her mother. Ekaterina watched lovingly as her 10-year old daughter pranced around their modest apartment; her long golden curls bouncing with each leap. Her 7-year old son, Nicholai, tried to imitate his sister's ballet moves._

"_Wonderful my darling! You are going to be the most famous dancer that ever lived! And what about you, my little prince? What do you want to be when you grow to be a big strong man?" Ekaterina said as she lifted her son onto her lap. He looked up at her with his big blue eyes opened wide and his blonde hair tussled from his morning of play._

"_Oh, Mama! I want to be a dancer, too! Or maybe a king and live in a castle!" Nicholai let out a soft giggle as his mother tickled his ribs._

_Suddenly the door to the apartment flew open and a desperate looking man ran in slamming the door behind him._

"_Pah-pa!" the two children gleefully squealed almost in unison._

"_Ivan! What is it? What's wrong?" Ekaterina quickly rose from her chair and rushed to her husband's side. He grabbed her by the shoulders, his eyes full of panic. _

"_The American agents have found me. They will be here soon! We must leave now!" The children rushed to hug their father, each hugging him around the legs. "Not now, children! Not now!"_

_Natasha and Nicholai quickly jumped back in fear from their father's stern reprimand. Lately, he was always yelling at them. Nicholai began to cry. Natasha ran to her mother for safety and clung tightly to her waist. Ekaterina placed her hand on the back of her frightened daughter as she questioned her husband._

"_Ivan? What do you mean? Why are there American agents after you? What have you done?" _

_Ivan looked coldly at his wife. He offered no explanations to her questions._

"_Ivan? IVAN! Tell me! What have you done?"_

_The children began to cry at the tension that had quickly surfaced in the apartment. Ivan began to throw things in a bag in preparation to flee their home._

"_Ekaterina! Quickly! Gather some clothes and food. We must leave now!"_

_Ekaterina stood motionless in the center of the room, her daughter crying at her side, her son sitting on the floor, covering his eyes and sobbing. A loud banging on the door snapped her into focus._

"_EGOROV! We know you're in there! It's all over! OPEN THE DOOR AND SURRENDER!" A voice screamed from the hallway._

_Ivan began to ransack the kitchen looking for something._

"_Ivan! Ivan! What is happening? What are you doing?"_

_Ivan grabbed a box that was on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. Inside, he pulled out a gun and in one swift motion snapped in the ammunition clip._

"_Nyet! I will not surrender! You will have to kill me first!" he shouted back to the man behind the door._

"_Ivan! What are you saying?" Ekaterina said with a trembling voice._

_Suddenly, the door burst open and 3 men invaded the apartment. Ivan began shooting. The Americans returned fire. Bullets shattered the large windows of the apartment and sent glass flying into the room. Ekaterina shielded Natasha with her body and dragged her to the floor. A few more shots were fired and then it was silent. Ekaterina cautiously looked at the scene. One of the Americans was on the floor holding his bloodied arm and another was standing over the body of her husband, gun still drawn. _

"_IVAN!" she screamed as she ran to her husband. She knew before she crossed the room that he was dead. There was so much blood. She looked up at the Americans to see they were both pointing their guns at her. She collapsed beside her husband's body, sobbing uncontrollably. _

_The black haired American patted the light brown haired agent on the shoulder and said, "Good job, Stetson. Guess you're not a rookie anymore!"_

_The one that was called Stetson looked at the body horror as he realized that not only had his bullets killed Ivan, but also had killed the small boy Ivan was using as a human shield. An almost unworldly sound came from the throat of Ekaterina Egorov as she saw her dead son lying on the kitchen floor, his blue eyes frozen open in horror. The woman scooped up her child into her arms. His arms hung lifeless at his side._

"_Nyet! Nyet! NYET! My boy! My Nicholai!"_

Ekaterina stood up from her chair and picked up the whistling tea kettle off the stove. She poured the hot water into the waiting tea cup. As she slowly dunked the tea bag, she began to smile. This was a day that she had waited more than fifteen years to arrive. It was the day when she would finally get her revenge on Lee Stetson. She walked back to the table and carefully arranged the black and white photos that lay out before her: photos of Lee, Amanda, Philip and Jamie.

"Soon Mr. Stetson, you, too will know what it is like to lose everything you love and hold dear to you. Very, very soon."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Monday mornings were always difficult to get started at the Stetson household. The boys had to practically be dragged out of bed. It was far too easy to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock for 9 more minutes of sleep. This Monday morning was no different. No one slept very well given last night's conversation about the agency. Lee felt Amanda toss and turn all night long before she finally got up and went down stairs for a few hours. Lee attempted to sleep but his mind was too busy worrying about Amanda and the boys and how this whole mess would resolve itself in the end. What he really wanted to do was go give Joe a piece of his mind and the taste of his fists. He dozed off and on for most of the night, waking every 20 minutes or so. Once Amanda returned to bed around 3:30am and snuggled up beside him, he was able to relax a bit more. Finally falling asleep about 4:45am, they were in a deep sleep when the 6:00am alarm began to buzz. Lee searched for the snooze button frantically as he was startled awake. He slowly opened one eye to look at the clock. It didn't seem possible that it was time to get up. As he closed his eyes again, he felt Amanda beside him, her head resting on his chest and her hand tightly squeezing his t-shirt. She did not have her normal serine look to her as she slept. She looked troubled and upset. Lee began to rub her back as he tried to clear the fog out of his mind. He could hear that the boys were already up and getting ready for school. This was a sure sign that they didn't sleep well either. Lee gently stroked Amanda's hair and left gentle kisses on her forehead. Amanda began to loosen the grip on Lee's shirt and stretch her neck as she began to waken.

"Good morning! I hate to tell you but it's already 6:00." Lee whispered.

Amanda opened her eyes and looked up at Lee's smiling face, his hair askew from his restless night's sleep.

"How can it already be time to get up? I just fell asleep?"

Amanda rolled over onto her back and placed her hands on her baby bump. Lee rolled onto his side and began rubbing her belly as well.

"Amanda, why don't you stay home today? You didn't sleep at all last night and you should stay home and rest. The interviews can be rescheduled or better yet, I can reassign them to someone else."

Amanda lovingly placed her hands atop of Lee's and squeezed it gently.

"I appreciate the thought sweetheart, but I really need to go into work today. If I stay home, I am going to think about Philip and Jamie all day and get myself in more of a tizzy than I am now. And like I said yesterday, after the interviews this morning, I will come home and take a rest."

Lee kissed the back of her hand and smiled at his sleepy wife.

"Ok. I am going to go make sure the boys are up and then jump in the shower. Why don't you at least try and rest for another 20 minutes or so."

Amanda nodded as Lee turned off the alarm that had started to buzz for the second time this morning. He got out of bed and went down the hall to see if both boys were out of bed and getting ready for school. Philip was just getting out of the shower and was still in his robe. Jamie was nowhere to be found.

"Morning, Dad."

"Morning, Philip. Where is your brother?"

"Oh he's down stairs. He got up a while ago and showered and got dressed already. I think he's watching TV."

"Rough night of sleeping for him, I guess, huh?"

"Yeah…for me, too. Didn't really sleep much. Too many things to think about."

"Your mom and me didn't sleep much either. Guess we will all sleep really well tonight."

"Guess so."

"Ok, Champ, I am going to go take a shower. Your mom is still resting. What do you say I drive you guys to school this morning?"

"Sounds great! Can we stop and get some cocoa and a donut on the way from that donut shop near the school?"

"You bet! Do me a favor and tell your brother he doesn't have to go catch the bus, OK?"

"Yup"

Lee went back to his bedroom and found that Amanda had fallen back asleep. Lee took a shower and got dressed for work. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently shook Amanda awake.

"Time to get up, sleepy head. It's 6:30."

Amanda slowly opened her eyes and groaned. "OK, I'm awake."

Amanda got out of bed and Lee headed downstairs to see the boys.

"Good morning, Jamie. How are you this morning?"

Jamie shrugged his shoulders without looking up from the book he was reading. Lee sat beside him on the couch.

"Rough night, huh? I didn't sleep very well either…..Did Philip tell you that I am going to drive you two to school this morning?"

Jamie put his book down and looked at Lee.

"Yeah, he did. And he said we can stop and get some donuts, too!...Dad? I'm not sure I like knowing that you and mom are spies. I had nightmares about it last night."

"Aw Jamie…..I am so sorry that this has upset you so much. It is a lot to take in all at once. We had always wanted to tell you differently than how it came about last night. But bottom line is….it's good that you two know. Remember, we are going to talk about it again tonight and you can ask us anything you'd like. Hopefully it will put your mind at ease."

Jamie nodded his head as he bit the inside of his mouth to prevent himself from crying. He was really scared at this revelation.

Amanda came down the stairs in her robe and towel wrapped around her head.

"I just wanted to say good-bye to you boys before you head off to school."

"Dad is going to drive us today" Philip announced.

Amanda smiled at Lee. "I think that is a great idea. Come give your mother a hug and a kiss!" Philip and Jamie each hugged Amanda tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight, Mom! We'll meet you in the car, Dad!"

"How about one for your husband?" Lee grasped Amanda firmly by the waist and kissed her passionately. "I love you, Manda…..and you need to make sure you come back here the moment those interviews are over. OK?"

"I love you, too, sweetheart. And I promise. I am not going to go into the agency at all today unless I have to. I already have the files with me and I plan on heading straight to the first appointment from here. I will call you when I get home."

"OK!" Lee kissed Amanda again before heading out the door.

Noticing the time, Amanda quickly dashed upstairs to finish getting ready.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"Lee! You look like you've been run over by a truck!"

"And a pleasant good morning to you, too Francine!"

"Well…no…I didn't mean…..I just mean…you look exhausted! You and Amanda burning the midnight oil last night?" she said with a Cheshire Cat-like grin.

"No..no Francine, we were up late and could sleep because we were telling the boys about their parents being spies. Seems your little tip was correct. Joe did tell them….weeks ago!"

"Weeks ago? Oh Lee, I had no idea! I thought it was just a few days ago! How did they take it?"

Lee ran his hands through his hair and sat on the edge of his desk.

"Philip thought it was great. He wanted to know what kind of James Bond-like gadgets we get to use. Jamie is pretty scared by the whole thing. He is afraid that he is in danger and I think he is also afraid of his parents being in danger. We are going to talk about it more tonight."

"Did you talk to Joe?"

Lee looked at Francine with a look of disgust. "You better believe we talked to Joe. In fact, I think that I will be going over to have another little talk with Joe later this morning-without Amanda there."

Francine's eyes widened. "Oh, Lee! Do you think that is a good idea?"

"I think it is necessary whether it is a good idea or not…..Don't you have that new agent class thingy this morning?"

"Ugh! Don't remind me! Whoever was the evil son of a bitch that scheduled this for a Monday morning should be made to pay!"

Lee smirked at Francine and in a whimsical tone said, "You're welcome!"

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda was pleased that the first interview went so smoothly and quickly. It was almost 9:30 and she was running at least a half hour ahead of schedule. At this rate, she hoped that she would be home by 11:30 and asleep by noon. She pulled up in front of the small ranch house that matched the address in her file. She got out of the corvette and snapped a few pictures of the house before heading up the walkway. As she stood on the front stoop, she reviewed the names of the two women she was to interview: Natasha Petrovich and Ekaterina E. Alezczeck. Amanda rang the bell. A beautiful, svelte young woman with long blonde curls opened the door. She seemed surprised to see Amanda.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Petrovich? I am Amanda Stetson from the agency. I am here to conduct your interview for defection to the US."

"Oh! Yes I am sorry…I don't know why but I thought that the Agent Stetson coming to see us this morning was a man. Please forgive me and come in."

"No problem what so ever. Thank you very much."

Amanda stepped into the house and Natasha shut and locked the door behind her.

"Mama? We have company!" Natasha yelled to her mother. "Mrs. Stetson is here from the agency to conduct our interview….She will be right in. Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you very much. If you don't mind, I would like to get started right away. Would it be ok if we began your part of the interview as we wait for your mother?"

"No, that would be fine."

"I notice that your English is very good. How long have you studied the language?"

"Oh I don't..I mean I never study. I am a dancer and have traveled all around the world. I can speak many languages….it comes from the travel I do."

"Yes, I see here that you are a ballerina and have danced with many famous dance troops, including the Moscow Ballet. That is very impressive."

"Oh, I thank you very much. I work very hard for this, since I was a little girl."

"And do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I had brother but he died also when I was a little girl."

"How about your husband? It says here that you were married."

"Yes, I was married. My husband died last winter."

"I am so sorry to hear that. You are so young to be a widow. And what about your parents?"

"My father die when I was little. It has been me and mama ever since. Mama has been looking forward to meeting you."

"Meeting me? Why?"

"Because Mrs. Stetson", Ekaterina said in a thick Russian accent from behind Amanda's chair. "I have a score to settle with your husband."

Amanda quickly stood up and spun around to find herself face to face with Ekaterina and the large gun that was pointing directly at Amanda's chest.

"Oh my gosh!"

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5

The new rookies began to pour out of the conference room followed by a frazzled looking Francine. Lee couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. Her perfectly coiffed hair from this morning was now quite mussed and her once glossy lips had lost their shine. Lee walked over to her with laughter still escaping his lips.

"You look like you could use a big cup of coffee!"

"Shot of tequila is more like it. Lee, I swear these rookie agents get younger and younger every single year and hardly have a brain between them. There's no way that we were ever that green!"

"Oh, come on, Francine! They can't be that bad. There must be at least one promising agent in the bunch? Someone you can mentor?"

Francine rolled her eyes at Lee in an exasperated manner. "I have had this class for the past 6-weeks and not one of them has stood out as anything but slightly above average. Most of them will be fine behind a desk, but out in the field…..forget it. They'd be dead in a matter of weeks."

"Well…..maybe they are just waiting for you to inspire them! I seem to remember you used to have some rather umm…interesting ways to offer up inspiration in the old days!"

Lee let out a chuckle as he took a sip of his coffee. Francine looked at Lee with a blank expression on her face.

"Lee, that is not funny", she said dryly. "And even if I did resort to….well those types of things, I swear that most of them would have no idea what to do with it."

Lee continued to chuckle both at Francine's frustration with the new recruits and with the thought of how the Francine of 10 years ago would have handled this situation. Francine pointed her finger at Lee, her big blue eyes opened wide.

"Lee, seriously…not funny! Don't you have something better to do than stand around here and laugh at me? Why don't you go harass Amanda?"

"Well for your information, Amanda is not here today. She had some interviews out in the field and then was going back home to rest." Lee's mood quickly changed from jovial agent to concerned husband. "She barely slept at all last night. The conversation with the boys really is weighing on her. I know she feels really betrayed by Joe, too." Lee checked his watch. "She should be calling me fairly soon, I would imagine, letting me know she is back at home."

"Oh that's right…she said she had those defection interviews. Those are usually so boring and tedious. Who is she interviewing?"

Lee thought for a moment. "You know? I actually have no idea. I don't think I ever asked her. Huh….that is not like me. Damn it! I can't believe I never touched base with her about the interviews."

"Well, I'm sure if you are that concerned, she probably has the information on her desk somewhere."

Lee slowly nodded his head as he contemplated Francine's comment. "Yeah! Good idea. I'm going to go check it out. Good luck with your class!"

Lee gave Francine a wink as he headed to Amanda's office.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Amanda stared at the gun that was pointed at her and then at the silver haired woman that had her finger on the trigger. Her blue eyes were sad…..hardened. Her lips were tight and pulled into a scowl. Her completion, although somewhat wrinkled, was like porcelain. She was a beautiful woman that showed the hard life she had lived. Natasha pushed Amanda further into the living room. She grabbed Amanda's purse from her shoulder and grasped it close. She then took the leather satchel that contained Amanda's files and put them both on the credenza on the opposite side of the sunlit room. Amanda began to speak to her captor.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Alezczeck but I think you have me confused with someone else. If you'll just put down the gun, we can talk about this and I am sure we will see that this is all a misunderstanding."

An evil laugh escaped Ekaterina's lips.

"Oh there is no mistake and I do not have you confused with someone else. Your husband is the American agent Lee Stetson. I believe they now call him Scarecrow. They didn't call him that when I had the displeasure of meeting him….when he took away everything that I loved…EVERYTHING THAT MATTERED TO ME!"

Amanda took a step back. She was quickly realizing that she was in real trouble. She had to think fast. This was supposed to be a simple interview and then a quick trip home. What had she missed in the preliminary research; obviously something big. Her heart began to beat faster. Amanda decided to use her gift of rambling to buy her some time.

"Well, I really don't know anything about that. I didn't even know Lee in the days before they called him Scarecrow. It sounds like something that happened a long time ago. Why don't we all just sit down and we can talk about….."

"Nyet! **We will not talk**! We will wait!"

"What are we going to wait for?" Amanda asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. Ekaterina took in a deep breath and regained her composure.

"We will be waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive to our party. And once they are all here, we will be inviting the guest of honor to join us….Lee Stetson himself. Tell me, Mrs. Stetson…..when is your baby due?" She used the gun to gesture at Amanda's belly. Amanda immediately wrapped her arms around her middle instinctively trying to protect her unborn baby. "You and the scarecrow must be very excited. A child is a wonderful blessing. But then, you already know that, don't you?"

Natasha pushed Amanda down into the waiting chair and began to tie her arms to the wooded arm rests. Amanda felt given the current situation, being out numbered and a gun pointed at the baby, it was best not to try and fight Natasha. Amanda stared coldly at the pair and tried to create an escape plan in her head. Natasha finished tying Amanda's arms and legs to the chair.

"Thank you, Tasha. Why don't you go attend to your errand?"

Natasha nodded to her mother and walked out the front door. Amanda wondered where she was going and who the other 'guests' that were to arrive. She was running through procedure in her mind when she realized that she never told Lee where she was going today. Amanda had planned on discussing her day today with him last night, but the talk with the boys pushed everything else from her mind. He wasn't expecting to see her at the agency today. It would probably be several hours before he even realizes she's missing and by then, it may be too late. She then thought about the gun in her purse. Natasha had not opened the purse to look through it. She just put it on the credenza…..if there was only a way Amanda could get free, she could get to her purse and to the gun.

Ekaterina walked over to Amanda and touched her pregnant stomach. Amanda jumped at the touch and could feel the rage begin to rise within her. The old woman's touch made her skin crawl.

"Yes. Children are indeed a gift. Isn't that right, Mrs. Stetson or shall I call you Amanda? You already know what a blessing children can be because you already have two boys: Philip and Jamie."

Amanda's eyes widened at the mention of her sons. She didn't know how much to confirm. Panic began to rise within her.

"Two very handsome boys. I can't wait to meet them in person. Tell me-does Mr. Stetson mind that they are not his own children? Or does he love them like his own? Would he be upset if something were to happen to them?"

Amanda opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"Oh, don't worry, Amanda. I am not going to hurt you, Philip, Jamie or your baby…at least not yet."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee sat down at Amanda's neat as a pin desk. He let out a heavy sigh as he began opening drawers to find some clue as to where she was today.

"At least with the piles on my desk you have at least some idea of where to start looking!" he said out loud to himself.

Lee began to get frustrated that the answer wasn't popping out at him. Then he remembered that Amanda said she had the files with her at home.

"OK, so no files. Where else can I look?" He sat back in her chair and studied her desk. "There has to be a clue here somewhere. Ah! Her calendar!"

Lee opened the top drawer and retrieved the calendar that Amanda used to keep track of her appointments and other things that needed scheduling. He flipped the pages until he found the current week's pages.

"Dr.'s appointment on Thursday…..good to know. OK….where are you today, Amanda? 9:00am meeting with Fredrick Mueller, 11:00am meeting with Natasha Petrovich and Ekaterina E. Alezczeck." Lee continued to scan the pages to see if there was mention of addresses or phone numbers. "Damn! Nothing!"

Lee picked up the phone and dialed.

"Research! This is Hill"

"Agent Hill, this is Lee Stetson."

"Oh yes, how can I help you, Sir?"

"I need to know if Amanda Stetson had you research a few people recently that have inquired about defecting."

"Yes she did. I helped her with that myself."

"Great, I need the addresses for the people that you researched for her."

"Sure, hold on a sec"

Lee frantically searched for something to write with and a piece of paper to write on. There were no pens or pencils in sight.

"Damn it, Amanda! Do you have to put EVERYTHING away?"

Finally, Lee found a dull pencil in the back of the drawer and began to scribble the addresses on the back of Amanda's calendar.

"Ok, thanks. Was there anything unusual about the people you researched? Any kind of flags come up?"

"Not a thing with Mueller. He seems clean as a whistle. Very low security risk. Finding information on the other two was a bit more difficult. We couldn't go back as far with them as we did with Mueller. The U.S.S.R is not as easy to get information out of, as I am sure you know. What we did find out didn't seem too scary: a ballerina and her mother. Both of them are widows. Doesn't seem to be any KGB connections."

"How far were you able to go back?"

"Uh…looks like '75."

"'75? That's not really that far back. You couldn't find ANYTHING else?"

"Nope. Mrs. Stetson mentioned to me that she thought she would not be recommending that they be allowed to defect given their spotty back ground check but she was going to wait until after the interview today."

"Amanda told you all this?"

"Well, you know how friendly Mrs. Stetson can be….and we just got to chatting and…."

Lee rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I know Amanda likes to chat. Any idea what she was hoping to find out?"

"Well, mainly why there doesn't seem to be much information before '75. Alezczeck was Ekaterina's second marriage. There was no sign of her until '75."

"What was her married name before that?"

"We were still waiting to get that information as of last Friday. Can you hold on a second and I can see if that has come in yet?"

"Sure."  
>Lee scanned the weeks to come in Amanda's calendar. He smiled when he saw that their anniversary was only a few weeks away. He made a mental note to do something extra special for Amanda this year.<p>

"Mr. Stetson?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Did you get the name?"

"Yes we did. Her name was Egorov. Ekaterina Egorov and her daughter Natasha Egorov."

Lee's stomach dropped and he felt his face drain of all its blood. After all these years….this can't be a coincidence.

"Are you sure? Egorov?"

"Positive….…hello? Hello, Mr. Stetson?"

Lee had slammed down the phone. He sat back in Amanda's chair and brought his hands to his temples, stunned at the information he had just received. "Damn it! Damn it, Amanda! What have you walked into?"

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6

Amanda sat, tied to the chair, trying to figure out how she could have overlooked the obviously very important details in this assignment. Perhaps she had taken the interviews too lightly; perhaps she was distracted by other things in her personal life. Whatever the reason, she was now dealing with the consequences. Her life was in danger as was the life of her unborn child. And most certainly, her captor was intent on killing Lee. She hadn't told anyone where she would be this morning. That is the number one rule as an agent that you always follow-never go anywhere alone or letting someone know where you are going. "Damn you, Joe!" she thought to herself. "If I hadn't have been so distracted by your selfishness, I might not be here in this situation right now!" Amanda knew that wasn't true. The mistakes she made were her own, but blaming someone else for at least the moment helped her feel a little better.

"I've got to get out of here", she thought to herself. Ekaterina stood looking out of the large picture window in the living room. Her back was to Amanda. The bright sun shone in through the window and enveloped both women. Amanda needed to loosen the ropes and then create a distraction. It was now or never while it was just the two of them if Amanda was going to accomplish this. She started to pull on the ropes that tied her arms. They were getting loose. She had tightened her forearms when Natasha was tying her to the chair, a trick she learned years ago and has served her well many times over. Quietly, she began to move her arms back and forth, struggling to get them free. Ekaterina slowly turned away from the window. Amanda froze and ceased her escape attempt.

"You know, Amanda….I have waited so long for this day." Ekaterina sat in the winged back chair opposite Amanda. "My life ended the day I met Lee Stetson, and today, I will finally have my revenge."

Amanda swallowed hard and just observed Ekaterina.

"It was fate that has brought us back together again, fate that I should run into Lee Stetson. Imagine how happy I was to hear that the agent that wanted to meet with us had the name of Stetson! It didn't take too much trouble to find that it was the same man I have hated all these years-AND he had a family, too! It was almost too perfect. I could now make him pay and suffer as he made me suffer….Natasha wanted a fresh start after her husband died last year. She wanted to come to America. Her husband was killed by the KGB for no reason at all. He was a brilliant dancer and loved my Natasha as my husband, her Papa once love me. And one night last winter, they mistake him for someone else…..and they shoot him. And just like that, he is gone."

"I am very sorry to hear that. I can't imagine what that must be like."

"No, you can not. My husband died, too….shot by your husband, in my own home!"

"I don't…."

"Nyet! Do not say another word. Lee Stetson kill my husband…..AND MY SON!" The tears started streaming down her face at the memories of that horrendous day. She began to mutter something to herself in Russian and began to cry harder. Amanda became more frightened as the emotional stability of Ekaterina began to waver. She quickly rose up out of her chair and crossed to Amanda, kneeling down to look her straight in the eyes.

"We were so happy! And he took it all away from me! Lee Stetson took it all away! My Nicholai was only 7-year old! He was just a baby!"

Amanda started tearing up at the thought of how horrible it must have been to lose a child. She was now better understanding Ekaterina's pain. She also thought about Lee and how horrible it must have been for him to have accidently killed a child. He had never spoken about this to her. Ekaterina was sobbing. Amanda tried to say some words of comfort.

"Mrs. Alezczeck, I can't even imagine the pain that you must be feeling. Losing a child is the worst pain that anyone can feel."

Ekaterina stood up, brushed away her tears and regained her composure.

"Yes….it is. But, soon you and Mr. Stetson will know what it is like to lose a child or more to the point, children."

"What? What are you saying?"

"Our guests have arrived."

The front door opened and in walked a frightened Jamie and Philip, followed by Natasha and her gun.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee picked up the phone and dispatched two teams: one to Mueller's address and one to Egorov's address that he obtained from Agent Hill. He was sure that the addresses would prove phony. They probably spoke to Amanda and asked her to meet them somewhere else.

"Call me the second you know anything!" Lee said as he slammed down the phone. He then rushed through the bullpen to the conference room where Francine was still with the rookies. He flung open the door startling Francine.

"Class dismissed!" Lee yelled. "Francine, I need you….NOW!"

"Uh…OK…..class dismissed." Francine replied.

The class looked very confused and slowly began to close their notebooks and rise from their chairs. Lee grabbed Francine by the arm and pulled her out of the room.

"Lee! What the hell is going on? Careful! You're hurting me!"

"In my office, NOW!"

Lee slammed open his office door and immediately began pacing. Francine quickly followed.

"Lee! Calm down! What is going on?"

Lee ran his hands through his hair as he continued pacing.

"It's Amanda! I think she has just walked right into a hornet's nest and it's MY FAULT!"

"Wait! I thought Amanda had light duty today….just a couple of interviews?"

"Yea…..and one of the interviews was with Ekaterina Egorov!"

Francine looked at Lee and shrugged her shoulders.

"Who is Ekaterina Egorov?"

"Ekaterina Egorov…..the woman whose husband and son I killed on my very first field mission as a rookie agent!"

Francine's face now started to mirror the same worry that was present on Lee's.

"Oh…oh that's not good. Do you think it is a coincidence? I mean there can be someone else with that same name, right?"

"Same name and has a daughter also has the same name as the daughter in 1973?"

"Uh, Probably not."

Lee shook his head, his eyes widened. "No…probably not."

The phone rang and Lee pounced on the receiver to answer it.

"Stetson."

"We got to the address you told us for Egorov and there's no one here. Doesn't look like anyone has been here for a while."

"Damn it! OK stand by for further instructions."

Lee slammed down the phone.

"The address we had was a phony."

"So Amanda probably never met with them. Did you call home?"

"Yes I called home and she's not there. I'm sure that they gave her some alternate address to meet her at."

"Let's go back to her desk and see what we can find. Did you check her computer?"

"Computer? No. I hate that thing. Takes me forever to find what I'm looking for."

"Well it's a good thing for you that I know my way around a computer. I'll start there. You have your calls transferred to Amanda's office and meet me as soon as you're done. We're going to find her, Lee. Everything is going to be OK."

Francine exited Lee's office and entered Amanda's through the adjoining door that separated the two.

Lee heavily sat in his chair and let out a heavy sigh.

_Lee looked out the passenger window of the moving van over the Russian countryside. Everything was frozen and covered with ice and snow. The sun shone through the trees making them look like they were made of crystal. The open fields of high grass were also encrusted with ice. The frozen tendrils danced in the wind, reflecting the sun most beautifully. The scenery was breath taking but the temperatures were cruel and bitterly cold. Lee had never experienced such cold as this in his life. He hardly noticed the cold today, as he was too excited to finally be working in the field._

"_Nervous, Stetson?" said the driver of the van._

"_Not at all, Duncan! I'm ready for this! It's about time that they sent me out in the field."_

"_Easy there, rookie! This isn't going to be like those milk runs they have been sending you on. We don't need your first real mission to be your last."_

_Agent Jake Duncan patted Lee on the shoulder. He could tell Lee was very nervous about going into the field. He remembered how nervous he was for his first real mission and it was nowhere near as dangerous as this one had the potential to be._

_The third agent that sat in the back of the van let out a sarcastic chuckle at the both of them._

"_You just do what I say when I say to do it, Stetson and we all should be fine. Don't go off and try to be some damned hero. I know that old man Thornton thinks you are the next best thing since sliced bread, but just remember…..I am in charge." The senior agent on the trip said to him without making eye contact; he just continued to check his weapons. Lee stared at the senior agent in the rearview mirror, Paul Barnes for a moment before looking away. He hadn't quite figured him out yet. Lee thought that Barnes either hated his guts or wanted to be his best friend._

"_We've been searching for Egorov for a long time. Too many of our agents have been killed by his hand or by someone acting on his orders. If we are going to get him, it's going to be today. Don't kid yourselves, gentlemen. This is not going to be an easy take down. We will have one shot and one shot only. Cornering him in his own apartment is risky but we will also have the best chance of taking him alive."_

_Lee and Agent Duncan nodded as they listened to Barnes speak. Lee felt the pit in his stomach grow larger as the reality of the mission began to set in. The van pulled down a narrow alley and came to a stop. Duncan turned off the engine and smiled at Lee._

"_Check your weapons, Rookie. It's gonna be a bumpy ride from here on out."_

_Lee nervously smiled back at the agent. He made sure his ammo clip was firmly in place and that he had two to spare._

"_Don't forget about your back up gun, Stetson." Barnes barked. "A good agent always has a back up when entering into a situation like this. Who the hell knows what Egorov has stashed up in his apartment?"_

_Lee nodded and checked the gun strapped to his ankle. He then noticed Egorov running into the apartment building._

"_There he is!" Lee quickly unbuckled his seatbelt._

"_EASY, STETSON!" You run after him now you are as good as dead. He'll have the jump on you in two seconds flat. Give him a moment to get into his apartment. He needs that false sense of security that will make him vulnerable."_

_Lee swallowed the lump that was building in his throat and nodded._

_Barnes looked at both men. "OK-it's time. Let's go."_

_They quickly and quietly exited the van and ran to the back of the building. Barnes tried the rusty looking door that would allow them to enter unseen. Drawing his weapon, he gestured for Lee to try the door. Duncan followed Barnes' lead and had his gun at the ready. Lee nodded and pulled the door open. Duncan quickly scanned for any danger. Seeing that all was clear he motioned for Barnes and Lee to enter. Barnes held up three fingers indicating that they needed to make it to the third floor. Lee nodded and began up the stairs, gun drawn. Barnes and Duncan were right behind him. Not another soul was seen as they ascended the stairs. Lee cautiously opened the stairwell door and peered around the corner. Silently, he gave the sign the two agents to proceed. They found the door of Egorov's apartment. Inside, they could hear a woman's voice and children crying. Ivan Egorov was yelling something to his wife. Lee's Russian was still not quite up to the speed of Duncan and Barnes'._

_Barnes nodded to Lee and Duncan and indicated they should get ready, each crouched down on either side of the door. Barnes crouched next to Lee and began to yell in Russian through the door. Lee could understand that he was telling him to surrender. Egorov yelled back that he would not surrender, they would have to kill him first. The woman inside started screaming. The children cried harder. Duncan kicked in the door. Egorov started firing his gun and hit Duncan in the arm. Barnes fired some warning shots into the apartment, shattering the windows. Lee parachute rolled into the apartment and fired his weapon twice at Egorov's knee. At the same moment, Egorov bent down and grabbed his son that was weeping on the floor and positioned the small boy as a shield between him and the American agents. The bullet that was meant to only wound Egorov hit the child in the heart, killing him instantly and traveled into Egorov, hitting him in the lung. The second bullet hit the moving Egorov in the throat severing the jugular and causing him to bleed out quickly._

_Duncan sat on the floor applying pressure to his bleeding arm. Barnes placed his hand on Lee's shoulder._

"_Good job, Stetson. Guess you're not a rookie any more."_

_Lee looked at the dead body in front of him. There was so much blood. He hadn't meant to kill him, only wound. Suddenly, Egorov's wife ran across the room. Lee and Barnes both aimed their guns at her. She rushed to her husband's side, and collapsed. It was then that Lee noticed the horror that lay on the ground: the body of the innocent child that had been used as a human shield by his own father. Ekaterina saw her son and began to wail uncontrollably. Lee felt sick to his stomach and ran out into the hall to vomit. He had killed a child…..a child! That wasn't supposed to happen!_

_Barnes appeared in the hallway with Duncan in tow. "Come on, Stetson! We've gotta get out of here!"_

_Lee nodded in an almost zombie like state, still in shock from what had just happened. They were supposed to take Egorov alive. No one was supposed to get hurt and certainly no children were supposed to be killed._

"_Stetson! NOW!"_

_The three men ran back down the stairs and into the waiting van. Barnes jumped into the driver's seat and sped away._

_Lee looked out the window. He couldn't bring himself to speak._

_Duncan saw how this was affecting Lee._

"_Stetson, good work." He said._

"_Good work? I just murdered a little boy!"_

"_Lee, I saw the whole thing from where I was sitting. You aimed for his knees. Egorov was the one that dove and grabbed his own son to use as a human shield. It wasn't your fault."_

"_Egorov was one of the worst killers that we have encountered in a long time, Lee. This had to be done." Barnes chimed in. "Duncan is right. This wasn't your fault. Sad, yes….tragic even but it was Egorov that put his own son in harm's way, not you. This is a tough business, Lee. It's not the bullets and the beatings that make it tough. It's what happens after all the fighting is over. It's dealing with the ones we've lost and the ones we have hurt or killed. You have to learn how to keep feelings out of this business. If you can't, you'll never last."_

_Barnes made eye contact with Duncan in the rearview mirror. Duncan acknowledged that Barnes' words were correct. Lee inhaled deeply and continued to look out the window. After a few moments of deafening silence, Lee pulled himself together and began to speak. "OK, so what's next?"_

_Barnes laughed. "What's next? We get the hell out of Russia and head back to DC as soon as we can. This is a long way from over. Egorov had a lot of connections that will be after us now, including his wife."_

"_Well then put the pedal to the metal, and get us the hell outta Dodge." Lee replied._

"_Stetson, when we get back to Washington, there is a project that I think you would be good for. It's called the Oz Network. Interested?"_

"_Yes, absolutely."_

Francine burst through the door. "Lee! I found the new address! LEE! Are you listening to me?"

Lee sat up in his chair and looked at Francine. "You found it? In her computer?"

"Yup!" She said with a smile.

"Well give it to me! We have to get someone over there right now!"

Just then, the phone began to ring. Lee jumped at the sound and grabbed the receiver.

"Stetson"

"Mr. Stetson…..it has been a very long time. I wanted to personally call and invite you to a little party I am having in your honor. My guests are _dying_ for you to make an appearance."

To be continued…..


	7. Chapter 7

Lee quickly gestured for Francine to pick up the extension on the other side of the room. She quietly picked up the phone and listened to the heavily Russian accented voice on the other end.

"Ekaterina Egorov. I was wondering when you were going to call." Lee stated as flatly as he could. I was important that he showed no emotion to Ekaterina. He didn't want to give her any more fuel to add to the fire. He tried to remain very calm on the outside while his insides were running marathons and doing back flips.

"What a pity. You have already guessed who this is. And to think, I thought I was going to have to provide you with a few hints. It's nice to know you remember me after all these years, Mr. Stetson. Or is it Scarecrow now? Amanda won't tell me which you prefer."

Lee's jaw clamped down tight with the mention of Amanda's name. Again, he tried his best to remain calm. "What have you done with Amanda?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing, Scarecrow. At least not yet. We are waiting for you to arrive. And you really should hurry. The whole family is here waiting for you…..Philip, Jamie, Amanda and of course, your unborn child, all here waiting for you to arrive."

Lee hit the roof at the mention of Philip and Jamie. This has changed the situation exponentially. Amanda knew how to take care of herself in this situation. Philip and Jamie were likely to panic and with panic can come fatal errors. Lee became angry. "What do you mean Philip and Jamie?"

"Come now, Mr. Stetson. You don't think I would give a party in your honor and not invite your family, do you?"

"If you hurt one hair on any of their heads, you will pray for death!" Lee screamed into the phone.

"Now, now! Mind your temper! At least I am giving you the courtesy to forewarn you of their death, unlike what you gave to me. But, don't worry. I wouldn't dream of starting until you get here. You have one hour. For every minute you are late, I will do some type of physical harm to a member of your family. I suggest you hurry."

"Where the hell are you?"

"Oh, I am sure you can figure it out. And before you get any ideas, you are to come alone. Any sign of anyone with you, and your wife and unborn baby will be the first to die. Are you willing to take that chance?"

With that, the line went dead. Lee stood behind his desk holding the receiver and looking at Francine.

"Lee, try to remain calm! We will.."

"CALM? How the hell am I going to remain calm? My entire family is being held hostage by a crazy woman that wants her revenge on me for something I did when I was 23 years old. And there is a very real possibility that she might succeed before I can do anything! Give me the address. I don't have any time to waste."

"Lee, we need to figure out a plan first. You can't just run off and…."

"Francine! GIVE ME THE ADDRESS! This is not up for negotiation. This is MY family and I will handle this."

Francine slowly walked over to Lee and handed him the slip of paper in her outreached hand. As Lee reached for the address, she tenderly grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes.

"Please let me help, Lee. Amanda is important to me, too."

Lee nodded. "OK….get a back-up team ready. But they have to stay OUT of sight and they can't arrive until AFTER I am already inside. Got it?"

"Got it! Now get going!" Francine gave Lee a half smile and grabbed the phone to begin arranging the team. Lee sprinted through the bullpen to the elevator.

"Hold on, everyone. I'm coming!"

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Jamie and Philip walked cautiously into the house and Natasha shut the door behind them.

"Go! In there!" Natasha barked at them as she shoved them into the living room.

Jamie and Philip did as they were told, both too afraid to not comply with Natasha's orders. Upon entering the room, they saw Amanda tied to the chair. They froze at the sight of her. Angst now turned to paralyzing fear in the two boys.

"Mom!" Jamie shouted and attempted to run to her. He was stopped by Ekaterina as she came into the room from the kitchen. Jamie began to cry as Philip began to fight back the tears.

"Let my sons go! NOW!" Amanda screamed. The boys became even more frightened. "It's going to be ok, fellas. Just do what they tell you and it will be ok. Lee will be here soon."

"Mom? Are you ok?" Philip sheepishly asked.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Everything will be ok."

Ekaterina said something in Russian to Natasha. Natasha began to argue with her mother. Although Amanda did not know what they were saying, it seemed obvious that Ekaterina was losing patience with her daughter. Their discussion became more heated as Natasha disagreed with her mother's requests. The two women were eye to eye and tempers were flying. Suddenly, Ekaterina slapped her daughter across the face. Natasha stood there stunned, cradling her cheek with her hand, tears filling her eyes. She inhaled sharply and pointed her gun at the boys. Amanda's heart nearly stopped at the sight of it. She had no idea what the two women's intentions were with Philip and Jamie.

"NO" Amanda cried out!

Ekaterina, still angry with her daughter, walked over to Amanda and backhanded her across the face. Amanda's cheek began to burn and sting. Ekaterina's ring had scratched Amanda's face. The cut began to bleed. Jamie let out a whimper at the sight of his mother being struck.

"You two, MOVE!" Natasha commanded the boys as she indicated that they should walk down the hall. The boys did as they were told. From the angle that Amanda was seated, she could not see where they were going or what was happening to them. The fear that was rising up inside her was almost unbearable. She then heard Natasha speak. "Get in the room and keep quiet. We will come get you when it's time!" Amanda then heard the closing of the door and the latching of what sounded like a deadbolt.

"What do you want with my sons? This whole thing has nothing to do with them! Let them go!" Amanda pleaded.

"Amanda…come now. The incident all those years ago had nothing to do with my son either, yet he was killed. You know exactly what I want with your sons. At least I will let you say good bye to them before I kill them."

A single tear ran down Amanda's cheek as she fought to keep in control of her fear. "Please hurry, Lee!" she screamed to herself in her head. "Please…hurry."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Lee tried to keep a calm head about him as he sped through the D.C. traffic. The vette hummed along as Lee pushed it to speeds he had not ever attempted since he owned the car. He desperately tried to formulate a plan that could save them all, but all he could think about was the image of Nicholai Egorov dead on the floor of the cold, dimly lit apartment, surrounded by his own blood. Lee's flesh began to crawl as he remembered the inhuman sound that Ekaterina made upon discovering her son's body. Bile began to churn and rise up in his stomach. He had tried so desperately to forget that day. It was his first big assignment and it wasn't supposed to end that way! No one was supposed to die, especially not a child. Lee swallowed hard as the guilt of his actions began to wash over him and the image of Ekaterina cradling her dead son's body with his ice blue eyes frozen open over took his mind's eye.

"Damn it!" Lee screamed as he hit the steering wheel with the fleshy palm of his hand. "It was an accident! It was an accident! I never mean to kill your son!" he declared to no one.

His mind then began to conjure images of Philip and Jamie, scared and confused as to what was happening. He then pictured them lying in a pool of their own blood: Lee helpless to do anything to save them. He forced himself to push those images far out of his mind. He remembered what Paul Barnes said to him on that fateful day:

"_You _have_ to learn to keep your feelings out of this business. If you can't, you'll never last."_

Lee slowly exhaled and then drew a sharp breath in and held it. He knew what he had to do; failure was not an option. Grasping the steering wheel firmly, Lee pushed the accelerator further to the floor and sped to the destination that Francine had scribbled on the paper. He hoped he would get there in time.

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

Ekaterina nervously paced back and forth in front of the large picture window in the living room, glancing outside every 30-seconds or so-waiting for the arrival of Lee. Natasha sat in the winged back chair once occupied by her mother. She hung her head low and looked at the floor, not making eye contact with anyone. Her body language was tense and disturbed. Amanda was trying desperately to think of a way out of this horrible situation. Was there anyway that she could let Ekaterina and Natasha let Philip and Jamie go? She scanned the room hoping something would come to her. The bright noon sun streamed in through the window, heating the already warm room. As she looked for a solution to the situation, Amanda saw her purse taunting her from the corner of the room. If only she could get to it and retrieve the gun that was stowed within.

Ekaterina began sternly speaking to Natasha. Natasha picked up her head and replied to her mother. Ekaterina looked at Amanda and smiled a most evil smile accompanied with a sinister laugh. Natasha's expression did not change or acknowledge her mother's taunting of Amanda. Her eyes were sad and distant. Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Um…excuse me, but I really need to use the bathroom. I have been sitting here a long time, and well…being pregnant, I have to go to the bathroom all the time. Can you please bring me to the bathroom before I have an accident?"

Ekaterina said something to Natasha in Russian and gestured to Amanda with the gun that had not left her hand since Amanda had arrived. Natasha rose from the chair and began to untie Amanda.

"Natasha will bring you to the bathroom and then right back. If you try anything, I have told Natasha to shoot you in the stomach and I will do the same if necessary. I am sure you can appreciate what a tragedy that could be for you, Amanda. Don't you?"

Amanda took in a quick shallow breath and answered in her raspy tone. "Yes…..I think I understand exactly what you are trying to say."

Natasha finished untying Amanda and told her to stand up. Amanda rubbed the places where the ropes bound her wrists. She then stretched and gently rubbed her stomach.

"Down the hall." Natasha gestured to Amanda to begin walking towards the bathroom. Amanda complied. When they got to the bathroom door, Amanda walked in and shut the door.

"Quickly!" Natasha said as the door was closing. Amanda finished as fast as she could. She splashed some cold water on her face as she washed her hands. "Think, Amanda! Think!" she said to her reflection. Natasha banged on the door. "Let's go!" Amanda heard through the door. She opened the door to find the barrel of Natasha's gun staring her in the face. "Back to your chair" Natasha said.

Amanda walked back to the chair and sat down as ordered.

"Tie her to the chair!" Ekaterina commanded.

"I am, Mama! I am!" Natasha answered back in a very annoyed tone. Her reply was enough to spark another argument between an already stressed mother and daughter. Natasha continued to tie Amanda as she fought with her mother. Amanda noticed that she was distracted and took the opportunity to slightly lift her arms above the arms of the chair creating some wiggle room in the rope as she was being tied. Natasha didn't seem to notice Amanda's ploy. She then began to tie Amanda's legs to the chair. Amanda relaxed her arms and noticed that this time, her arms were much more free to move beneath the ropes.

Ekaterina stopped pacing and looked out the window with great intensity. She reminded Amanda of a dog noticing another dog in its yard-its focus unbreakable. A great smile broke out across her face as she turned to face Amanda.

"Tasha, go get the children. Hurry!"

"Amanda, a small part of me is very sorry that I will have to kill you and your children. You seem like a nice woman. But the moment I have waited over for all these years has FINALLY arrived. I finally get to have my revenge on Lee Stetson."

"Please let my children go. You can have me and Lee, but let Jamie and Philip go!" Amanda pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. But don't worry. I have no intention of killing Lee Stetson. I want him to suffer as I have suffered. I want him to see his spouse and children killed in front of him while he lives with the memory knowing it was all his fault."

Amanda's eyes widened in horror, mouth agape. Philip and Jamie came stumbling into the living room, both blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs.

"Mom? Mom are you in here? What's going on?" Jamie and Philip both cried out in fear and confusion.

"I'm here, fellas. It's going to be ok." Amanda answered trying very hard to hide the fear in her voice.

Ekaterina walked over to Jamie and stroked his hair. Jamie jumped at the contact.

"Not to worry, child. It will all be over soon. Very, very soon."

"Don't. Touch. My. Son!" Amanda said, her voice full of venom.

Ekaterina suddenly grabbed Jamie by the hair and yanked him down to the floor. "I will do what I please, Mrs. Stetson and there is nothing you can do about it!" The two women began to stare each other down. Amanda wanted nothing more than to jump out of the chair and take down Ekaterina. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Amanda's heart leapt at the sound. Ekaterina smiled from ear to ear.

"At last the guest of honor has arrived."

Amanda let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't worry Amanda. This will all be over soon. Momentarily actually."

To be continued….


	8. Chapter 8

Lee parked his car down the block from the house, his destination in sight. He got out of the car and snuck to the back of the house to try and gain a view of Amanda and the boys inside. The yard was unkempt and overgrown. An old rusty gate squealed as he swung it open. Lee winced at the sound and hoped that it didn't make his presence known. Upon first examination of the house, there didn't seem a way that Lee could immediately see inside. All the windows to the living area of the house were too high up and would require some climbing. As he stood under one of the windows, he could hear voices. He soon realized that they were the voices of Philip and Jamie. "Thank God they're still alive" ,he thought to himself.

"It's gonna be OK, Jamie! Mom and Dad are professional spies! I bet they do this stuff all the time. Try not to be scared."

"Aren't you scared, Philip? I mean, they have guns. What if they shoot us? And Mom is tied up….that lady hit her!"

Lee became instantly enraged upon hearing that one of the women hit Amanda. He had to concentrate on controlling his anger and pushing the emotions aside. He had just gained some valuable information from the boys: there are multiple guns involved and Amanda is tied up.

"Nah, I'm not scared….well, maybe a little scared but you heard what Mom said. Dad will be here soon. He'll fix everything. He's been doing this a lot longer than mom and from what we heard Francine say to Sam that time, Dad is the best spy there is! Remember? She said there's no one better!"

"Yeah, I remember. I just wish I knew what was going on and that Mom was OK."

Lee could hear the fear in both of the boys' voices. He continued to move about the back of the house looking for a way in. There was none that he could find. He quickly returned to his car and drove up to the house. In his rearview mirror, he could see the team that Francine had assembled turn down the road and park. Lee checked his gun and exited his car. He could see shadows moving past the large picture window. As he approached the front door, he could hear a woman's voice but couldn't make out what she was saying. "it's now or never", he said to himself as he rang the bell.

"Tasha! You will open the door! But wait for me." Ekaterina barked at her daughter. Tasha walked to the door and placed her hand on the knob. Ekaterina grabbed Jamie by the arm and dragged him with her to the front door. Jamie struggled beneath his captor's grip; this made Ekaterina squeeze harder on his arm forcing Jamie to let out a yelp of pain.

"Mr. Stetson! We are going to open the door. You will walk through with your hands in the air. If you do not, I will shoot your son, Jamie. He is standing right here beside me!"

Ekaterina squeezed Jamie's arm again much harder than before causing him to yell again.

"Ow! Stop! You're hurting me!"

"STOP!", Amanda yelled from across the room. "Leave him alone!"

Lee could hear both Jamie and Amanda through the door.

"OK, OK! I will do what you say. Just leave Jamie alone!"

Ekaterina nodded to Tasha who then slowly opened the door. Lee stepped inside, both hands in the air.

"Lee!" Amanda called out to him.

Natasha frisked Lee and removed his gun from its holster. She handed it to her mother. Ekaterina shoved the blindfolded Jamie towards Lee as she pointed both guns at them both. Lee hugged Jamie with all his might and removed his blindfold. Jamie smiled when he saw Lee and began to cry. His hands were still tied and couldn't hug Lee but felt safe in his embrace.

"Uh-uh, Mr. Stetson. I didn't say you could remove the blindfold. Put it back on." She gestured with the gun to help accentuate her point.

"Sorry, Kiddo. It will be OK, I promise. I'll get you out of this. Just do as I say, OK?" Lee calmly whispered into Jamie's ear as he replaced the blindfold. He then made his way over to Philip making sure that he was ok, too. He hugged his son and told him to be strong, it would all be ok. Philip nodded his head as he tried to stifle the tears that were now free flowing. As Lee hugged Philip, he made eye contact with Amanda across the room. She gave him a half smile as she was glad to see him. Her eyes, however were laden with fear. Lee returned the smile and gave her a nod. He could see the cut on her cheek that was now encrusted with dried blood. Lee inhaled deeply and stood up, facing Ekaterina.

"Why don't you let Amanda and the boys go? Your issue is with me, not them. I am the one that killed your husband and son all those years ago. They have done nothing to hurt you."

Ekaterina was not prepared for the overwhelming emotions that she was feeling seeing Lee again. Memories of that fateful day came flooding into her mind in vivid detail. It was almost too much to handle. Her hands began to shake as she looked into Lee's sorrowful eyes. Sensing her uneasiness, he slowly began to step towards her. If he could catch her off guard, perhaps he could get the upper hand. But what if she began to get frightened and just began shooting. He couldn't live with himself if one of the boys got hurt, or Amanda.

"Please", he begged, "Let them go. You can have me. I am sorry about what happened all those years ago. No one was supposed to die. It was a terrible accident. Your husband moved quickly in front of the bullets from my gun. "

Tasha stood beside her mother. She had an almost sympathetic look to her as she listened to Lee. Ekaterina began to sob. She sat heavily into the winged back chair and placed Lee's gun on the end table beside the chair. Lee tried not to be obvious as he eyed the pistol. He slowly crept forward toward Ekaterina and more importantly, his gun.

"Mama, please….", Natasha began. Suddenly, Ekaterina sprang up from the chair, grabbing Lee's gun as she went.

"NYET! NYET! I will not let them go! YOU MUST SUFFER, LEE STETSON! SUFFER AS I HAVE!"

Lee froze in his tracks. Amanda and the boys jumped at her sudden tirade.

"You killed my husband and my baby! My Nicholai!"

"It was an accident! I….."

"NYET!", Ekaterina pointed her gun directly at Lee. "It was not an accident! You broke into my home and you shot them! You ruined my life! My life was over that day! I had nothing left to live for, and now…you will know the same pain!"

Ekaterina quickly grabbed Philip and held him against her, gun pointed directly at his head.

"NO! NO! Don't hurt him! Philip, stay still. No sudden movements!" Lee screamed out. Amanda was frozen in fear at the sight of her son being held at gun point.

"You left me with nothing, and now I will leave you with nothing! I am going to kill your family just like you killed mine. Philip will be first, then Jamie….we will leave your unborn child for last. And of course, Amanda, your beautiful wife."

Lee began to panic. He didn't know how to get out of this one. Natasha looked at Lee and then at Philip.

"Mama! Stop! You don't need to do this!" she pleaded.

Ekaterina looked at her daughter in utter shock. "What? Don't need to do this? This man ruined my life! He took everything from me! He must be made to feel my pain!"

"No, he didn't take everything from you, Mama. You still had me. You always had me, but I wasn't ever enough for you, was I? You should have died that day, too, Mama, because from that day on you were never there for me." Natasha was becoming more and more agitated as she spoke to her mother. "You forgot about me, Mama. You never loved me the same. I felt like a burden to you. What about me, Mama? What about me? I lost my brother and my Papa that say, too. But it was always about how much you were hurting. You never included me in your grief. We could have mourned together. Instead, you pushed me away and abandoned me emotionally." Natasha was crying uncontrollably by this point. Lee began to inch closer to Ekaterina. He was waiting for the right moment to snatch Philip from her grip and hopefully get his gun back in the same motion.

Ekaterina began to yell back at her daughter. "What do you mean I abandoned you? I was always there for you! I sent you to dance lessons so you could become a ballerina. I married that horrible man, Alezczeck so that you would have a roof over your head and food on the table! How dare you tell me to stop my plan! How dare you! Lee Stetson ruined your life, too!"

"No, Mama. YOU ruined my life. And now, I can't let you hurt anyone else." Natasha pointed her gun at her mother. "Let the boy go!"

Ekaterina pulled Philip closer to her and pressed the barrel of the gun flush against his skull. Her hands were shaking and tears began to fill her eyes. Her voice however remained eerily calm. "I will not let the boy go. Instead, I think I will make a slight adjustment to my plan."

Everyone in the room jumped at the loud pop of a single bullet being fired. Jamie screamed. Lee looked on in horror and Natasha fell to the floor, shot by her own mother-a single shot to the head. Blood oozed all around Natasha's head. Lee was very thankful that the boys were blindfolded. Ekaterina looked coldly down at her dead daughter. Her face was void of emotion. Lee was now more certain than ever that he needed to make a move to get Philip away from Ekaterina. She began to stroke Philip's hair with the barrel of the gun.

"You see, Mr. Stetson….NOTHING is going to get in my way of carrying out my revenge on you. Not even my own daughter! Say good-bye to your son!"

"No!" Lee cried out. Philip screamed as he felt the gun being pressed further into his temple.

Three gun shots were heard in rapid succession. Philip fell forward into Lee's waiting arms as Ekaterina crumpled to the floor. Behind her stood Amanda, freed from her chair prison-her gun still smoking from the shots she just fired into Ekaterina. Lee looked at Amanda amazed at what just happened. Amanda stood there frozen, her gun still aimed straight ahead. Lee quickly grabbed the guns away from Ekaterina's body and checked for a pulse. She was dead. He rushed over to Philip to ensure he was ok.

"Are you OK, Philip? Are you hurt?" Lee said as he grabbed the boy by the shoulders.

Philip didn't answer. Lee shook Philip. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm ok." Philip answered through his tears.

Just then, Francine burst into the house with a team of agents. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed when she saw the scene before her.

"Francine! Get the boys out of here! Don't take off their blindfolds till they get outside!" Lee ordered.

Francine and another agent quickly rushed to Philip and Jamie's side. The other agents lead them out of the room quickly and out to the waiting van. Francine looked at Amanda, holding her gun. She figured out quickly what must have happened when she saw the two dead bodies on the floor. She knew Amanda had never fired her weapon at anyone. She also knew that Amanda's sincerest hope was that she never would have to.

"Lee, I…."

"It's ok, Francine. Please go tend to the boys. I will help Amanda."

She nodded and walked out the door.

Lee slowly walked over to Amanda and gently took the gun from her hand.

"Amanda? Are you ok? Did they hurt you?"

Amanda looked at Lee, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Lee, she was hurting my children. I had to stop her."

"Yes, you did. You did the right thing, Amanda. It's ok."

"It's not ok…she was hurting my boys. I shot her!"

Fat tears rolled down Amanda's cheeks, her brown eyes full of pain and confusion. Lee pulled Amanda into an embrace. He held her tightly. He could feel her whole body shaking.

"Shh! It's ok, Amanda. It's ok.."

"I could have shot Philip or Jamie or you! I just had to stop her! She was going to kill Philip!"

"Come on, Amanda. Let's get out of here and go see the boys. I am sure they want to make sure you are ok, too."

Lee took Amanda's hand and led her out of the house. A team of agents began to enter as they exited to survey the situation.

"MOM!" Philip and Jamie shouted in unison as they ran towards Amanda. She dropped to her knees and pulled them both into a long, long embrace. The three of them held each other and cried. Amanda took a few moments inspecting each of them to make sure they were indeed, ok. Jamie had a good sized bruise on his arm from where Ekaterina grabbed him. Philip was not physically harmed in anyway, but was very shaken up from having a gun at his head. Both boys were spared seeing the horrific scene that was the inside of the house.

Lee stood back and watched Amanda and the boys. This one was way too close for comfort. Francine handed Lee his gun back. One of the agents had retrieved it from the house.

"Thanks….."

"Lee, I think that Amanda and the boys should be checked out by the NEST team, just to make sure everything is OK….both physically and psychologically."

Lee looked at Francine and nodded.

"I think you are absolutely correct, Francine."

"Good. I am glad you agree. Rosenberg is waiting to drive them to the agency med center."

"Ok, I will tell Amanda and follow them in my car. Thanks, Francine."

"You bet!"

Lee walked over to his family.

"Come on everyone. We need to go have the agency doctors look you over to make sure you are ok. Agent Rosenberg is going to drive you and I will follow in my car, ok?"

Amanda stood with her arms around the boys.

"Yes, Lee. I think that is a good idea."

**SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK SMK**

"Do either of you boys want any more pizza?" Lee asked as he prepared to clear the kitchen table.

"Nah, I'm good." Jamie answered.

"Yeah! I'll take one more piece!" Philip said as he shoveled the food into his mouth.

"You know boys, I am real proud of you for how you handled yourself today. You went through something really scary and you acted like a couple of pros! The situation could have been really a lot worse if you didn't listen to me."

Philip and Jamie listened to Lee, very happy to be home in their own house after the long, stressful day.

"It was good that you talked to the doctors afterwards, too. They told me that they would like to see you both again the day after tomorrow. You OK with that?"

"Yeah, the Dr. was nice….gave me ice cream!" Jamie said. "Besides, he seemed to be a good listener."

"Philip, you ok about going to see Dr. Pfaff again, too?"

"Yeah, sure. Do we have to go to school tomorrow?"

Lee chuckled at Philip's question.

"Well, I think given the circumstances, we can talk about it. I'm fine with it, but we had better ask your mother, too!"

"Yeah, good idea! Jamie, let's go shoot some hoops!"

Jamie and Philip put their dishes in the sink and headed out the door to play basketball in the driveway. Lee took a plate with 2 pieces of pizza up to Amanda who hadn't come out of their room since they got home. Lee softly knocked on the bedroom door as he pushed it open. Amanda was lying on their bed staring at the ceiling.

"I brought you some dinner." Lee said as he climbed in bed next to her.

"I'm not hungry." She replied.

"Come on…..just a few bites? I had to fight Philip for these last two pieces!"

Amanda continued to look at the ceiling. Lee put the plate on the night stand and then pulled Amanda close to him, her head resting on his chest. As he rubbed her back lightly, he tried to speak some words of comfort to her.

"Amanda, I know how you must be feeling. I know how much you hate guns and vowed never to use one if at all possible. You did the right thing….."

Lee could feel his shirt beginning to get damp from the tears that Amanda was shedding. She listened as he continued to talk to her.

"You shouldn't feel guilty for what you did."

"I don't." Amanda lifted her head and looked Lee in the eyes. She began to cry harder. "I don't feel guilty….at all. And THAT is what upsets me! Lee, I took a person's LIFE and I don't feel any remorse! She was going to kill my child and something in me snapped. I got free of the ropes, got my gun out of my purse and shot her. I wasn't trying to wound her…..I wanted her dead….and I killed her! I killed another human being and I feel glad. Do you know what that makes me?"

Amanda was now sitting up in bed, her face buried in her hands as she sobbed. Lee looked at his wife and gently took ahold of her wrists.

"Amanda, look at me…."

She looked at him with pain written all across her face.

"What that makes you is human. You were protecting your family. Make no bones about it, Amanda….I saw her face. Ekaterina WAS going to kill Philip and if you hadn't have done what you did, we would probably not be here right now. I know for sure Philip wouldn't be. You are not some evil, horrible person because you stopped someone from killing your child. You did what you had to do and given the same situation, you would do it again. So would I."

Amanda lowered her head and slowly nodded. She knew he was right.

"Did you talk to Dr. Pfaff? The boys seemed to actually like him! Can you believe that!"

Amanda chuckled. She looked up at Lee and began to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

"I did talk to him. Believe it or not, it actually helped a bit. I am going back tomorrow to chat some more."

"Good!"

"How did the boys seem tonight?"

"Uh…a little quieter than usual, but I think ok. They are out playing basketball in the driveway. They asked if they can stay home from school tomorrow."

"What did you tell them?"

"I said that it was ok by me….but we had to ask you…"

"Good answer! Lee….what if I never feel like myself again? What if this changes me forever?"

"Amanda…this HAS changed you forever. But it doesn't mean that the good is gone. This is something that is now part of your past and we will find a way to live with that. It will all be ok, I promise."

"How do you know that for sure?"

Lee pulled Amanda back down onto his chest and held her close.

"Well, I can't give away all my secrets! There are some things that I still have to keep a mystery! But I can tell you this…we have each other and a wonderful family. And let's not forget baby Stetson who seems to be getting bigger by the day! You're the most amazing person I have ever known, Amanda and your heart is the purest of anyone. It is going to take some time, but you'll see, you will be ok. And just know, that I am going to be with you every step of the way…and all the steps afterwards, too."

Amanda lay silently on Lee's chest and thought about what he just said to her.

"So, you think I am getting bigger by the day, Scarecrow?"

Lee rolled Amanda over onto her back and rubbed her stomach.

"Look at this thing! It's HUGE!"

Amanda slapped him on the arm.

"Hey! It's your fault that my stomach looks this way, you know!"

Lee leaned down and kissed Amanda tenderly on the lips.

"I know and it's the best thing I have ever done in my life! When do I finally get to feel him kick?"

"Him? Nope. It's definitely a her. And it should be very soon. I can feel little kicks inside but I don't think you can feel them."

"Her? A girl? Me with a daughter?"

Lee thought for a moment about the prospect. A huge grin slowly began to spread across his face.

"You're right. I think it is a her! And I hope she looks just like her mother."

"I love you, Lee! Thank you for being there for me."

"I love you, too. And you're never getting rid of me."

"I think I'll take some of that pizza now. Your daughter seems to be hungry."

Lee smiled as he handed Amanda the plate with the pizza. He laughed as she used her stomach as a table for her plate. The boys came bounding up the stairs and said their good nights. The last 48 hours had been hellish. Lee was relieved that it was all over.

"What do you say after you finish your pizza, Mrs. Stetson, we go to bed?"

"Once again, you read my mind, Mr. Stetson."


End file.
